INTERVIEW / “They used my diplomatic passport” TIRANA - Ritvan Peshkëpia responds to accusations in the Italian press. The leader of the Democratic Alliance said yesterday that he is completely free, with his family and friends, and not wanted by Albanian or Italian justice. “The truth is that a person who bears my name is accused, but I have no connection whatsoever with crime,” Peshkëpia said yesterday, little perturbed by the great commotion in the press. The politician yesterday denied every accusation relating to drug, prostitution or arms smuggling, saying that he continues his business activities peacefully at a company importing lighting fixtures. “I went to Chief Prosecutor Rakipi and called the Italian embassy. I am open to any kind of investigation until all the circumstances are clarified,” he says, believing that not only would he himself never do such a thing, but he would not allow his family’s friends and relatives to do so either. According to Ritvan, someone used his passport. On page 4 Peshkëpia yesterday in Tirana

NATO threatens Belgrade. The first aircraft in a few days BRUSSELS - NATO countries showed Serbia their teeth yesterday. They threatened Belgrade with air strikes if the latter does not stop using violence in Kosovo. “Miloseviç would be crazy if he did not take the threats into account and change his policy. At the Brussels meeting, the 16 ministers reached a consensus on urgent intervention to prevent the escalation of a new Bosnia. In this context, they asked their experts to speed up as much as possible the planning of all possible military options, ‘none of them excluded,’ and meanwhile ordered air maneuvers in Albania and Macedonia as soon as possible, within the coming days. On page 3 NATO soldiers

SHPETIM NAZARKO [article text cut off at the bottom edge] SHPETIM NAZARKO One of the biggest surprises of this busy summer has been the stance of political analysts on Kosovo. Although the classic danger posed by those known as paid nationalists was well known, this was still viewed through the lens of phenomena of this kind. Almost without exception, they accuse one another, as if they had previously put forward general propositions, or as if the present moment had proved their theses right. Take a look at the press and you will be convinced of this. The government’s stance There have been two fundamental positions in recent times. The first was that of President Meidani, who in February 1998 tried, through UN Secretary-General Anan and other bodies, to raise public awareness of intervention in Kosovo, using all the means of international diplomacy, up to and including military intervention. The second position was that of Prime Minister Nano, who sought assistance from those same parties, but within the borders of Albania, on the frontier with Kosovo. Without making serious accusations, the government’s position was rejected by Germany’s defence minister, Wolke Ruhe, who stressed that having an army on the border with Kosovo was entirely in Millosheviç’s interest. Millosheviç himself dealt a blow to this argument by creating an empty buffer zone, which distanced the Albanian government’s idea even further. The government may

FRANCE ’98 WORLD CUP SPECIAL CHILE BRINGS ITALY TO ITS KNEES Maldini accused by the Italian media On pages 10–11 A moment from Chile’s second goal (Photo: ANSA)

Annan’s deputy asks the Albanian Government for explanations Hajdaraga: We collected only 10 percent Annan’s deputy asks the Albanian Government for explanations UN to Tirana: Let’s collect the weapons Hajdaraga: We collected only 10 percent TIRANA - Assessing the situation regarding the distribution of weapons has been undertaken for the disarmament of the peo-

GAZETA e Shkodrës SHKODËR - Attack on the men in blue. A police agent was repeatedly shot with pistol bullets by a person who was later apprehended in the village of Hejmel. The motives that drove him to commit the act at midday, very close to the police building, remain a mystery. On page 6 GAZETA e Durrësit

blame the opposition’s changes, the rather slight concerns, the professional bodies themselves. It is even openly said that, in the end, Nano’s thesis about the army at the border was right. Is this narrow-mindedness? What should be seen in this whole story is that the politicians, analysts, government officials and the entire Albanian state apparatus were unprepared in at least one respect: making a global prediction of how events would unfold. Most modern historians rate Napoleon’s genius not so much for his magnificent military campaigns as for something else. When the emperor abdicated and the war had ended, France’s treasury was untouched. This had been achieved by a military man who had taken on the role of an economist. The economist Millosheviç, who ended up as commander-in-chief, has not failed only in this respect—that of emptying the treasury—but in every respect that makes up the analysis of this conflict. A small analogy may bring this to light. When the peripheral republics began breaking away from Gorbachev, the center, Russia, was still richer than all of them. To some extent, and for a long time, the periphery would remain economically dependent on the center for gas, oil, forests, etc. When Millosheviçi loses Kosovo, unlike Russia, he must understand that the periphery has been Continued on page 2

Hajdaraga: We collected only 10 percent TIRANA — Assessing the situation and the extent of weapons distribution, disarming the population, and the possibility of cooperation with the United Nations on this issue were at the center of a meeting held earlier this month by the Minister of Defense, Luan Hajdaraga, with the United Nations Under-Secretary-General, Jyanfa, his deputy Séadash-Rana, and the team accompanying them. The Deputy Secretary-General emphasized that he was very interested in the problems surrounding the distribution of weapons and their collection, since this was in the interest not only of Albania but also of its security and beyond. The Minister of Defense, Luan Hajdaraga, after giving a detailed overview of the situation in February–March of last year, emphasized the quantity of weapons and ammunition distributed. On page 4

Work for 430 people, funds blocked DURRËS — Public works projects in Durrës are being prepared. The plans for public facilities were drawn up in full detail as of May 25 and approved by the Durrës Municipal Council. They were then forwarded, in accordance with the law, to the Ministry of Labor and Public Services, but no response has yet come from there. On page 8

The DP doctor: “What I will do for the city” VLORË — “My promise is to devote myself to Vlorë.” With these words, Democratic Party candidate Servet Koidheli launched his electoral campaign to be elected Mayor. Breaking with the usual tradition of election campaigns, he and the staff of the Democratic Party branch have decided to reach out to the people of Vlorë through open discussions, which began several days ago. On page 7

“There can be no coalition without PAD’s participation” A response by Prime Minister Nano in the day’s press to the serious accusations of PAD leader Neritan Ceka concerning smuggling has cast doubt on the coalition’s continued existence. Former Interior Minister and PAD president Ceka has warned the Prime Minister that he should not defend incompetent people. And not only that: Ceka has said that the Liberal Democrats will reconsider their position in the coalition if Malaj is not dismissed from the post of Minister of Finance. On page 2 Gjinushi

The Italian visa “counter” of GAZETA SHQIPTARE Send your letters to: Rr. Dibrës 370, Tirana The Italian Consul answers in the pages of “Gazeta Shqiptare” Italian visas: Here are new names List of people who may receive a visa On page 12